The Hero in the Wrong Way. About Kassian Goleizovsky’s Heroic Study

Abstract

The article presents a case study of the dance solo Heroics (or Heroic study, from the ballet Scriabiniana) of the Russian avant-garde choreographer Kassian Goleizovsky (1892-1970). This study proposes a methodological approach based on movement analysis, in order to investigate the meaning conveyed by this “abstract” dance. After tracing back the origins of this “revolutionary” dance in 1920s, we offer a comparative analysis of the figures issued from two versions of this solo, filmed in the 1960s and 1970s: the first staged by the choreographer himself, and the second “restored” after his death. The difference between movement qualities and postural attitudes shows, however, two opposite projects behind what could have been mistaken for the “heroic style” of the soviet era.